Ok so carrying on as part of my autumn series, today is all about skincare products that can help you transition your skin with the weather so its more prepared when we’re hit with full on winter in a few months. Personally when the weather changes so suddenly like it always does this time of year I find I get really broken out, my lips are cracked and so dry and generally my skin is less happy in general. I wrote a full post last week on how to use makeup to maintain your summer glow, but today is all about different changes you can put into your routine to improve your skin and stop it becoming irritated and dehydrated. Some of these products are once a week treats, some are daily staples, but hopefully there’s something here for everyone.
Cleansers
Starting with makeup removal, this Sunday Riley blue moon cleansing balm is a new one for me. A truly luxury product this is full of conditioning plant oils and essences thats going to remove all your makeup without irritating or drying out your skin. I found this to have a slightly gritty texture and its definitely less oily than other cleansing balms I’ve used but this is a balm to milk formula that did a very impressive job of taking off every scrap of my makeup. The camomile extract is so soothing on your skin and smells lovely, but the core of this product is a cocoa and mooring butter base which is why its so nourishing and feeds your skin so well. For me this did leave a slight residue on my skin but considering this is a first step cleanse I was expecting that and I didn’t mind it so much, but this isn’t a makeup off and go type product but has amazing benefits when used as part of your routine. One of the best ways to help your skin is to find a routine and stick to it, it can take up to 6 weeks for you to see the benefits of using a product, mixing up what you use is only going to confuse your skin and leave it unbalanced. Definitely something I’m trying to work on this autumn is sticking to a routine, both morning and night with my skincare, makeup and haircare, just to simplify things a little more.
Another cleanser that I’ve been using all through the summer and I know it’s going to be able to take me through the winter is the radiant skin foaming cleanser from Julique. It has a whipped, almost marshmallowy type texture and when applied to wet skin it froths up and creates a beautiful exfoliating mousse, gentle enough to use in the morning without fear of redness or irritation but it’s strong enough to buff away any dull skin and keeps my skin heavenly soft. This is one of those products I was talking about when I said consistency is key, Jurlique are known for their natural skincare and wholesome ingredients so you can forget about any artificial nasties, just lots of clarifying rose extract and glow giving willow bark.
I hate to sound like a broken record and if you’ve read any of my other skincare related blog posts this year then you’ll have heard me talk about these products before. Yep thats right, Dermalogica and their magical powder exfoliators, I started the year using their charcoal daily superfoliant which was great for breakouts and oily skin, but now I’ve switched over to the pollution fighting, ultra sensitive Daily Microfoliant and I’m equally as obsessed. The magic behind this is that its a powder you pour into wet hands and apply to a wet face, when the powder comes into contact with water it turns into a foam/paste consistency and feels amazing! I love that this product starts off gritty on your face but then lathers into an amazing foam that buffs away dead skin cells, cleanses deep into your pours to leave your skin balanced and refreshed. I’ve found this has worked wonders on my pigmentation left over from acne years ago. After using these powder exfoliators all year I can honestly say I’ll never go back to a super gritty harsh exfoliator ever again.
Treatments
Another newbie into my skincare routine has been the ever loved Pixi glow tonic, I’d never used it before and am honestly now kicking myself I didn’t start on it sooner. I’ve religiously used my Clinique anti blemish tonic for about 10 years so I had very high standards of how good this needed to be and surprisingly enough I not disappointed. This is made up of 5% glycolic acid and ginseng which are both going to help boost circulation in your face and brighten your complexion. This kind of glow boosting product is perfect for autumn when everything starts to look quite grey. I’ve been using this twice daily and am really happy with the results, because its a chemical exfoliant its fine to use everyday, although if you find its quite strong and it makes your face red after you’ve used it, which happened to me, then maybe slowly introduce it into your routine, using it 3/4 times a week and build up your skins tolerance to it. Another glow-getter from Pixi are these overnight glow gel drops, I was very confused as to how these worked and wasn’t loving the consistency at first as it felt a little sticky on the face, but after I saw the results I got over the stickiness! Apply a 10p sized amount all over your face and down your neck and leave on overnight, once its sunk in feel free to apply a moisturiser over the top for maximum moisture.
The reason skin loses its luminosity is because the cells get dehydrated and die and unless they’re buffed away they’ll sit on the surface of your skin. Gross I know. However the best way to combat this is to keep your skin as hydrated as you can, one of my favourite boosts is this mask from Peter Thomas Roth. This gel formula is sits on the skin and is pretty thick but is intensely hydrating, great for a mid bath pamper or a Sunday night treat.
When it comes to keeping my lips crack free there’s nothing but lanolips for me at the moment, this apple scented one has been my go to and although don’t use it during the day because I find the oils makes my makeup around my lips and chin slip off, as soon as I’m home and the makeup is off I slather this all over and in the morning I have plump and soft lips. The original formula is also amazing fyi but the apple one smells so good, they also have a peach and strawberry version if that’s more your style.
Another great treatment to add to your bathroom cupboard is this shower oil from BioDerma, you may have seen in my pamper post that it’s around this time of year I reach for shower oil or cream instead of a gel because I find them more nourishing and they don’t leave my skin as dry #everylittlehelps, this one is really lovely because its unscented, is thicker than most so it doesn’t just run down the plug hole and is great for shaving! It provides 24 hours of moisture and often I don’t have to put an additional lotion on if I’ve used this and in the winter mornings I’ll take every spare second of sleep I can get.
Serums and Moisturisers
Hopefully serums and moisturiser are already a part of your routine so this won’t be anything new, but I’ve found some amazing products for if your skin just isn’t packing the punch it needs to. Something I haven’t mentioned is SPF, very important all year round but in autumn we can forget that the sun can be quite strong still so using a sunscreen is just as important now as it is in the summer. I’ve been using a tinted SPF from BioDerma as part of my morning makeup routine to prep my skin, help keep my skin looking young (no unnecessary sun damage over here thank you very much) and it helps add a little coverage which is never a bad thing in my book. Ok back to the skincare…
Rose extract is an amazing ingredient for this time of year because it’s so intensely hydrating but is also good at tackling impurities in your skin leaving you with a healthier and clearer overall complexion. My two go-to rose products are as always this rose moisturising lotion from Jurlique that can be used a day cream in the morning or layered with an oil for an overnight moisture fix. I love this Jurlique lotion because it feels really light on my skin and the glass bottle keeps something as ordinary as morning moisturiser feeling a little more glamorous. The other rose lotion is this Rose Ceramide Cream from Pixi, the rose oil is what is going to deliver optimum hydration but the inclusion of ceramics means it’ll be slow releasing and help your skin absorb more over time, the metal tin packaging feels very old school and the formula is a light cream that I can tell has oil extract in because it applies so smoothly. An amazing night cream that’ll combat even the driest of skin.
Last but not least is this serum/moisturiser duo from BioDerma, both from their HydraBio range which is designed to combat the effects of weather, stress and pollution which stops skin from retaining water and moisture. These products are designed to rebalance the skin and kick start your skins natural hydration process. What I love about BioDerma is the no-frills attitude, I know that all the ingredients are 100% necessary and it’s designed purely with its purpose in mind, so there’s going to be nothing to irritate my skin. The serum is lovely and glides onto my skin and sinks in evenly, the moisturiser isn’t as thick as I normally reach for this time of year but with the ingredients and benefits I’m going to keep using it as my morning moisturiser and see if the benefits ring true.
Phew, for those of you still reading – Congratulations! Potentially my longest skincare post yet, hopefully some of that was helpful in navigating this tricky time of year. My advice overall is to find a routine thats hydrating with a gentle exfoliation minimum twice a week and drink as much water as you can! I’ll be doing a winter version of this series in the coming months where there’ll be a lot more oils and balms so stick around for that and if there’s any specific skincare questions you’d like answers to please give me a shout on instagram! x
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